Honestly speaking, I’ve only seen maybe four or five mech series. I’m obviously no expert (or novice for that matter) in this genre. That said, today we look at a mech series that I thought was one of the few diamonds in the rough of the off season. So let’s dig into the new show, Rinne no Lagrange!

The show starts off with a shot of a girl staring off into the sea. When suddenly, she spots a swimmer out in the distance drowning. Luckily she was wearing her school swimsuit under her uniform and runs off into the sea saves the swimmer. Credits.

Showing up to school late and out of uniform (which got stolen while she was in the ocean) gets the girl, Kyono Madoka, a quick scolding and a thanks from some random lady at the school with a kendo sword. Then a sort of half-montage/half-day progression of Madoka’s activity packed school day. She finally heads home at sundown. Along the way, some strange girl wearing Madoka’s uniform takes it off to return it, and underneath is wearing a very strange uniform.

When she arrives home, Madoka gets a surprise visit from her cousin Nakaizumi Yoko who as a greeting pins her in submission, and scolds her for her being able to beat her so easily. After examining something on her butt (by force, seriously, she just pulls her pants down, checks, and leaves…) Yoko gives Madoka her contact card i.c.e.

While showering after a softball game, Madoka gets another surprise visit from the mysteriously dressed girl.The girl asks to join Madoka’s club, the Jersey Club, and introduces herself as Fin E Ld Si Laffinity, Lan for short. Right off the bat she has a favor to ask of Madoka: for her to pilot a robot.

And now an awkward parallel plotline cut brought to you from some some spaceship somewhere near the moon heading towards Earth by the “League of Stereotypical Antagonists.” We have the silent leader in a trench coat, the hot-headed and gravity-defying-haired fighter wearing a cut off jacket and medical wrap, and the young-appearing silent odd one out. This should make for a beautiful lack of backstory or explanation for their entire being.

Madoka and Lan arrive at the floating fortress/hangar far off the bay, while Yoko (who vowed to never let Madoka pilot a robot) finds out that Madoka left for the fortress/hanger and storms off for there. When she touches the somehow familiar robot, Madoka has a strange flashback to her drowning in the ocean and being saved by a (meaning that) creature (meaning robot.)

The invader alarms go off as a giant alien robot enters the atmosphere and begins to attack the fortress/hangar. Yoko has Madoko get in the robot, which Yoko will pilot from afar, to fight the seemingly invincible enemy robot (who turns out to be the young-appearing antagonist.) Madoka’s robot smashes right into the shield of the enemy, getting stuck into it.

While stuck, Madoka wishes that she could pilot the robot herself, which causes the ship to transform into a traditional robot. This shatters the enemy’s shield, who then proceeds to pull out a laser sword and attack Madoka. But because of her martial arts training, she stops the blow and suplexes the enemy robot, shutting down its systems. After counting off the pin and saying her catchphrase, “Tick!”, the credits roll.